With all undertaken safety work completed,
the Konkan Railway is geared up to implement its monsoon time table with effect
from Saturday. It will continue till October 31.
The large scale geo-safety works executed
along the railway lines in the last decade have significantly reduced
incidences of boulders falling and soil-slipping along the route. There has
been no major disruption of train services due to falling boulders in the
monsoon in the last five years, L.K. Verma, chief spokesperson of Konkan
Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) said here on Thursday.
The Konkan Railway, he said, will conduct
monsoon patrolling as per the provisions of Indian Railway Permanent Way Manual
to ensure safety along the track. About 950 personnel will be patrolling the
route from Kolad to Thokur during the monsoon. Vulnerable locations will be
patrolled round-the-clock and stationary watchmen will be deployed at critical
locations. Speed restrictions will be imposed at vulnerable locations.
BRN-mounted excavators will be placed at nominated points for quick movement in
case of emergencies. Instructions have been issued to locomotive drivers to run
the trains at a reduced speed of 40 kmph in case limited visibility due to
heavy rainfall.
Mr. Verma said, trains plying on the
Konkan Railway route between Kolad and Thokur atnight will have supervisors
during the monsoon. An Accident Relief Train (ART), a self-propelled Accident
Relief Medical Van (ARMV) with provision for an operation theatre and emergency
medical aid will be kept ready at Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), while Verna (Goa)
will be provided with satellite phone communication.
Mobile phones and walkie-talkie sets will
be provided to loco-pilots, station masters, executives of various departments
and other officers. Every station on the Konkan Railway will be equipped with
25 Watt VHF base station enabling wireless communication amongst the train crew
and between the train crew and the station master.
Emergency communication sockets will be
provided at every kilometre along the Konkan Railway route, enabling the
patrolmen, watchmen and other field maintenance staff to contact station
masters and train controllers during emergencies in operating the trains.
LED signals will be provided in a phased
manner for improving signal visibility at difficult locations. Three control
rooms at Belapur, Ratnagiri and Madgaon, will work through the monsoons to
ensure safe running of trains.
Passengers who have been issued journey
tickets prior to announcement of the monsoon time table are advised to check
the timings of their train as the departure timings of some trains could be
altered. Passengers can check train status on www.konkanrailway.com, or dial 139.
Passengers may monitor their trains online during by visiting
www.konkanrailway.com .
Courtesy : The Hindu